tonight the showdown over reopening schools. the cdc now changing its guidelines after president trump blasts them as too tough. the president threatening to cutoff federal funding for schools that don't reopen the largest school system in the country revealing its plan to reopen, but only part-time. texas leaving it up to parents. many wondering is it safe for kids to go back. hospitalizations surging in states like arizona, texas and florida and new problems with testing. massive lines and wait times for results that take days, even weeks. the major supreme court ruling on obamacare. how it could impact tens of thousands of women

the key witness in the impeachment inquiry leaving the army, accusing the president of bullying him out. the new body cam transcripts just out of the moments leading up to george floyd's death. he told officers, i can't breathe 20 times the new protests over video appearing to show white men pinning a black man to a tree and shouting racial slurs. the major u.s. airline threatening mass layoffs. will others follow and the heart stopping video. a three-year-old thrown from a third-floor inferno. the hero former marine swooping in just in time. this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone we begin with the question on virtually every parents' mind, when can my child safely return to school? if it were up to the president, the answer is this fall, despite the health calamity unfolding across the country president trump rejecting the cdc's cautious guidance on school's reopenings, pressuring the agency to come up with something less restrictive. taking place as the country recording nearly 50,000 new

covid cases just today. we have full coverage tonight beginning with peter alexander at the white house. >> reporter: president trump tonight is escalating his push for schools to reopen. >> learning by computer is not as good as learning in the classroom. our schools, we want them open in the fall. >> reporter: earlier complaining on twitter about the cdc's voluntary guidelines for reopening schools, blasting them as very tough and expensive. while they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things hours later, the white house announced the cdc will issue new recommendations next week >> we don't want the guidance from cdc to be a reason why schools don't open every american knows that we can safely reopen our schools. >> among the cdc's current recommended policy, keep desks six feet apart as feasible close cafeterias and playgrounds if possible and use cloth or face coverings

with conflicting messages, the cdc director today tried to provide clarify for schools. >> i want to make it very clear that was not the intent of cdc's guidelines is to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed. >> reporter: the president is also now threatening to cutoff federal funding for those that don't open their doors. although most school budgets are funded by state or local dollars. pointing to students already back in classrooms in europe, the president insists any opposition is politically motivated. the dems think it would be bad for them politically if schools open before the november election today the cdc director saying the chances of children getting sick or spreading the virus are remote. >> this virus does not cause significant illness in children we really don't have evidence that children are driving the transmission cycle of this. >> reporter: but teachers unions warn among their members the fears are real.

>> nobody is going to go back full-time in a situation where you can't protect their health. >> reporter: tonight the education secretary says it is not a question of if schools need to open but how, arguing the risk of keeping students isolated at home is greater than sending them back to school. >> peter alexander at the white house tonight, thanks. and even as the cdc guidelines are changing, many states and cities, including new york city are trying to prepare their own plans to return to the classroom. let's get more on that from stephanie gosk. >> reporter: it is the announcement the largest school district in the country has been waiting for. >> parents want this for their children and for their families, but everyone understands whatever we do has to be first and foremost seen through the prism of health and safety. >> reporter: mayor bill de blasio announced children will go back to school two to three days a week. the rest of the time learning from home. there will be fewer kids in

classrooms and face masks are required but almost as soon as the mayor spoke, governor andrew cuomo said, hang on. the final decision won't be made until august. >> we want to make that decision with the best available data. >> reporter: a snapshot of some of the confusion surrounding the opening of schools, competing plans and conflicting messages with parents and students caught in the middle. in texas the education agency mandated that schools will open five days a week, but gave parents the option to do virtual learning at home as well. >> it truly becomes mental health versus physical health, and i don't know how to make that call. i truly don't know. >> reporter: in dallas where coronavirus cases have been surging, the superintendent isn't sure what the first day of school is going to look like. >> we will have the building open i am concerned about how many students will come and actually i'm concerned about how many employees will come. >> reporter: his concern is justified. a teacher's union in texas accused the state of acting with intentionally or recklessly with gross negligence. >> is it fair to say that you're working on a plan with the hope that these numbers get better >> well, the hope is

not a strategy, so that's very concerning the numbers continue to get worse, then we have to make different decisions at that point. >> reporter: that's what happened in burlington, iowa this week. the county canceling its in person summer school program after eight students arrived with fevers. a reminder that going back to school may be the goal, but the virus might get the final say. stephanie gosk, nbc news. joining us now is our medical correspondent, dr. john torres. dr. john, the big concern for parents right now, as we said at the top of the broadcast, is it safe to send my kids back to school what do we know about how vulnerable they are to getting the virus? >> well, lester, there is still a lot we don't know. there have been some small studies that have found that children are less likely to get infected and less likely to get but in extremely rare cases, kids have had a serious inflammatory virus response to the virus weeks after being

infected most have been treated successfully. >> the cdc says children are not spreading the virus. what evidence do they have to that >> well, the cdc doesn't have strong evidence that kids are spreading the virus, but we really don't know because we haven't done enough studies. since we're not really testing children, there is still a lot more to learn. >> yes, frustrating how much we still don't know about this virus. dr. john, thanks. as the school debate rages on, the u.s. has officially soared passed three million cases. it's pushing hospitals in places to the brink some are waiting weeks for their hospitals. here's joe fryer >> reporter: in less than a month, the u.s. has seen more than a million confirmed cases of covid-19, putting a strain on hospitals. >> we're full. if you come through the er right

now, it is not like you're getting whisked up to one of several beds. >> reporter: 50-year-old steve skinner who had no pre-existing conditions nearly died in a texas hospital. >> at one point they lost me. they had to use paddles on me to get my heart started again. >> reporter: nationwide the testing system is also overwhelmed. >> i got told i would get my results back in 7 to 14 days. >> reporter: lines are long, patience is short. a site in new orleans ran out of test kits in just minutes. >> i understand tests ran out, but at this time we should have enough >> reporter: the u.s. the coronavirus task force says the u.s. is now averaging up to 700,000 tests a day. >> the states really crushed their goal in june >> reporter: but many experts say it is still not nearly enough. >> we should be doing millions of tests a day, probably three to four million tests a day if we're going to get our hands around this disease. >> the challenge is not just getting a test but getting results. with some saying it's taking a

week or longer one company, quest diagnostic, says the average turn-around time for results is now 4 to 6 days, double last month. labs across the country are experiencing backlogs, something robert learned firsthand. >> that's where i slept for two weeks. on that pull-out couch. >> reporter: he isolated from his family after falling ill last month but said his test result which was ultimately negative took 27 days. >> mostly i was just angry, you know, at the system that it didn't work, that i waited 27 days. >> asking people to wait for days or weeks in my mind is just unconscionable and incredibly harmful for both taking care of people and controlling the outbreak. >> reporter: experts say for those who get tested, quick results are essential for contact tracing. >> if you are going to do contact tracing and the test comes back in 5 to 7 days, you might as well not do contact tracing because it is already too late. >> reporter: the government has invested billions in contact tracing. it's a job that's hard even with quick results. in new york city last month, there were about 12,000 positive cases. contact tracers were able to get in touch with more than 10,000 of them.

but only 6,700 completed an interview with a tracer and fewer than half provided information for people they could have infected. growing obstacles in a race to slow the spread. joe fryer, nbc news. at the supreme court today, a victory for the trump administration involving obamacare and birth control. pete williams joins us now with more on that hi, pete. >> reporter: the court today upheld new trump administration rules that vastly expand authority for employers to opt out for providing insurance for contraceptives the vote was 7-2 with ginsburg and sotomayor descending the court said the obamacare law gives the government wide latitude to decide what count as its own care and create exemptions to create its open rules. in the last, religiously affiliated employers were exempt but now even for profit companies can opt out if they have a religious or moral objection to providing

that coverage we'll get the final court decisions tomorrow, and that will include the rulings on president trump's long running battle to shield his taxes and financial records from congress and a new york prosecutor lester >> all right pete williams in washington tonight. thank you. a key impeachment witness is retiring from the army after his promotion was held up. lieutenant kernel alexander vindman testified in october that president trump's call with ukraine's leader last july was improper he was ousted from the national security council after the president's acquittal. vindman's attorney says he's the victim of a campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation led by the president. we're back in 60 seconds with the tens of thousands of airline workers who could soon be out of jobs

back now with another side of the devastating impact from covid-19 on our economy. one of the country's major airlines telling tens of thousands of employees they may be out of a job in the coming

months here's jo ling kent. >> reporter: tonight united airlines workers are bracing for the worst. the second-largest u.s. carrier warning employees of 36,000 possible involuntarily furloughs starting october 1st, calling it, quote, a measure we have always dreaded and a measure that was always the last resort in the context of this covid-19 pandemic nearly half of united's workers could lose their jobs. every part of the airline would be hit hard. 15,000 flight attendants, more than 11,00 customer service, and gate agents. 5,500 mechanics and more than 2,000 pilots along with reservation agents this comes after united airlines received $5 billion in federal bailout money earlier this year in exchange for no major job cuts through the end of september. >> unless we see a huge return in traffic in october, which is unlikely to happen, airlines will be losing tens of millions of dollars every day so they're going to need to become dramatically smaller. they need to cut their costs, and that's what's going to happen in the fall.

>> reporter: the main flight attendant's union says they expect more bad news on the horizon as cases of covid-19 once again surge across the country and demand for travel remains a historic low. >> this crisis is bigger than 9/11 and the great recession combined it's bigger than anything we have ever seen before by five times. and what this means is devastation for hundreds of thousands of families. >> reporter: united says its 36,000 furloughed is their worst case scenario as other transportation industry players are hit hard today they received zero orders for new planes in june, meaning more jobs could be on the line lester all right. jo ling kent, thank you tonight. just in this evening new transcripts from minneapolis. police body cams of the final moments of george floyd's life they revealed floyd told the officers restraining him he couldn't breathe for more than

20 times at one point floyd cries out for his late mother saying, quote, i love you tell my kids i love them i'm dead the transcripts were filed by attorneys for one of the four former officers charged in that case. growing outrage in indiana is sparking protests and demands for justice after the release of a disturbing video capturing what some say was a racist attack here's steve patterson. >> reporter: tonight growing outrage in indiana after an alleged attack caught on camera. >> let him go. dude, let him go >> reporter: video captured by a bystander and posted online by fox booker appears to show him pinned on a tree on all fours in what he described as an attempted lynches. >> it was the most disturbing incident in my life. >> reporter: the video does not capture what led up to the incident and nbc news has not been able to identify the other people in the video. booker says he was walking with friends at a state park on the 4th of july when the men confronted him saying he was trespassing. >> there is a moment where a

woman yelled for him not to kill me and i realized that she's talking about killing me. >> reporter: booker says he was beaten and verbally with racist speech. >> you nappy-headed -- >> reporter: and that one of the men yelled, get a noose. though, that alleged comment was not caught on video. booker is a member of the county human rights commission. and his account has shocked the community. >> i have known mr. booker for several years. to see what could be seen on that video was nauseating and aggravating and heart wrenching. >> reporter: this week protests erupted. >> we gathered to demand the prosecution of the attackers. >> reporter: and the governor now weighing in. >> the brief video clip that i view with my own two eyes was beyond disturbing. >> reporter: authorities say they responded to the scene for a report of a battery. no arrest were made, but an investigation is ongoing. tonight the monroe county prosecutor's office tells nbc news once the investigation is

complete, it will review the case and determine what charges are appropriate. >> if i'm going to be in this moment, i'm going to make sure that we bring about change and that no one else has to go through it. >> reporter: tonight a call for justice as investigators work to shed light on a troubling scene. steve patterson, nbc news up next, is there bias in the courtroom before the jury is even seated?

we turn now to our series inequality in america. a new study finds issues of

systemic bias during jury selection in california in the very system that promises to be fair and balanced. here's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: tonight the demand for change is stretching beyond law enforcement and into the courtroom where nationwide black people are convicted at higher rates. >> they're prosecuted more they're arrested more. they're punished more. and very few people who look like them actually sit in judgment of them. >> reporter: brendan woods, the chief public defender, says it all begins with bias during jury selection. >> i have an african-american woman in our office here who has tried over 20 cases and she can count the number of black jurors she's had on her jury in one hand. >> reporter: discrimination is illegal, but peremptory challenges allow the prosecution and defense to dismiss potential jurors without any cause, while either side has the right to object to strikes that appear racially motivated. woods says prosecutors often defend their strikes using reasons that only appear race

neutral. >> i had a juror, an african-american woman, who was actually excluded because she was wearing what's called a puffy coat >> reporter: finds prosecutors striking black jurors in 72% of those cases, while striking white jurors in less than 1%. some of the reasons because they had dreadlocks, were slouching, wore a short skirt and blinged-out sandals or had negative experiences with law enforcement. >> if you say that you can't be fair because you distrust the police, you are then going to exclude 98.9% of all black people from jury service. black people, rightfully so, have a distrust for law enforcement. >> reporter: the association of deputy das in l.a. calls the study flawed writing in part the cases examined constitute less than 1% of jury trials conducted in the state. to draw a conclusion that racial discrimination is pervasive stretches the

definition of pervasive. >> i've literally had jury trials where one of the jurors came in and had tattoos across their forehead that said, you know, f the police that's not a juror that you're going to feel very comfortable is going to listen objectively to the testimony of a police officer. >> reporter: uc berkeley law professor elizabeth semmel, who led this study, also helped craft state legislation opposed by many prosecutors and some judges that would make some of reason used for jury strikes invalid. >> the status quo perpetuates discrimination, and it is past time to take a bold and decisive step toward ending it. >> reporter: growing calls to rebalance the scales of justice for all. miguel almaguer, nbc news when we come back, the former wide receiver and the catch of a lifetime.

finally, more proof tonight that everyday heroes walk among us here's gadi schwartz with a story of two men in the right place with the exact right skills >> reporter: under a burning apartment in arizona, a sprint in a heart stopping catch. >> i just had tunnel vision on the boy and just made it. >> reporter: the man seen clutching the 3-year-old boy named jamison is

phillip blanks, a former high school wide receiver and retired marine. >> we live close to the mountains. it was a miracle. >> reporter: he wasn't the only hero that day. another man heard the screams of his sister and thought of his own two kids. >> i started to kick the door in i kicked it in and once i got the door open, i just seen a lot of like smoke and heat. >> reporter: and you still went inside >> i just ran in there and i grabbed her by the arms and then i picked her up and she said, get me, get me i was like, i got you. >> reporter: tragically, the children's mother died in the fire trying to get her kids to safety. >> my goal is to be involved in both of their lives as much as possible when they said they feel loved and they know their mother was a hero. >> reporter: two strangers hoping to be there for the kids in the future as they were this fateful day. gadi schwartz, nbc news. >> no time to think, just act wow. that's "nightly news" for this wednesday i'm lester holt. thank you for watching tonight. for all of us on nbc news, take care of yourself and each other

♪ >> kelly: hey, what's up, everybody? my summer staycation celebration is still going strong. it's good to see you back outside once in a while, it is

great and awesome for my band you're all that we can still make music remotely, today's quar-aoke is a fun one, a little nugget of knowledge, this is the first song i auditioned with for anything. and i made pop choir. it's all right. here is "how will i know" by the magnificent whitney houston. ♪ ♪ ♪ there's a boy i know, he's the one i dream of ♪ ♪ looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above, mmm-hmm ♪ ♪ oh, i lose control, can't seem to get enough, uh-huh ♪ ♪ when i wake from dreaming, tell me is it really love ♪